"Transformers" (2007) a dud in disguise

Transformers is based off the popular 80's cartoon of the same name. For the record I am a huge fan of the cartoon series, it was my favorite cartoon growing up and I still have all my toys which are in good condition. Also please note that while I am a fan of the series, my judgement lies solely on the film as it's self and not comparing the film with the series that has come before.

Transformers is about a group of waring robots who come to earth in search of an energy source known as the "All-Spark". Slowly the humans start to discover the robots, one group are a group of solders who are almost annihilated by the Decepticons (bad guys) several times. The other are a couple of teenagers who are discovered by the Autobots (good guys). The humans eventually discover the All-Spark and with the help of the Autobots, they need to protect it from the Decepticons.

This film stars Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox became a name that most guys got to know due to this film. Thankfully the original voice of the Autobots' leader "Optimus Prime" was Peter Cullen. Personally I feel that there is no Transformers without the incredible vocals of Peter Cullen as Optimus. Michael Bay was the director of this inevitable silver screen train wreck.

Ok, so this film was horrible. Most of the really cool stuff happened with the army group and when it happened it was awesome. However we were stuck with some horrible half-baked teenage love story complete with incompetent/idiotic parents.

I could not decide who was the bigger fault with this film, Shia LaBeouf or Michael Bay, so I am blaming both: I really do not think that Shia is a good actor, from Indy to Constantine, Hell even in Disturbia, Shia continues to portray the same type of role with the same lines and expressions. I will give him the benefit of the doubt and say that to many in the film biz he might be type-casted. If this is the case, then it just promotes my dislike for him since if you have seen him in one film, you have seen him in all films. You know how he is going to react in scenes and what he is going to do. What Shia could do is use some of his wealth, make a independent film and prove his depth as an actor. But until this happens and he keeps playing the same parts, then I will continue to blame him for his type-casting.

I have worked with Michael Bay and understand what he is trying to do with all his films. While he might be still trying to be considered a serious director, he should just stick with action films and leave the love stories out. Also the screen was so filled with things going on like the robots fighting each other that it got a little confusing on what you were actually seeing. I hated this aspect because you could not enjoy the moments, the only portion that they slowed down was a standoff and while it was brief, it was possibly one of the greatest moments in the film.

Sadly when all was said and done, we have a film that is bridging two generations of fans. In my eyes it is ruining another of my childhood memories because this film had the potential to be great, but it ended up being not good but decent. When all is said and done most people will not watch this film from beginning to end without skipping or fast forwarding to action scenes or the sections with Megan Fox.

So a film that you cannot sit through from beginning to end is in my book, a decent film. I still do not see why they could not dump the high school kid and parent thing and just focus on the military aspect. The Shia LaBeouf character could have just been a solder and that would have made the film a lot stronger.

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Kamu has been reviewing movies and working in the film industry since 1999. He has worked professionally on a number of television shows and movies. Kamu provides his insights from his experience in his reviews. Contact: kamuhiro@gmail.com.